The Drifter
by Blu Wolf 23
Summary: After a romantic evening out on the town a mortally wounded, heartbroken and amnesic bird arrives at Jewels hollow without warning. Our feathred friends then accept this new arrival into thier family while helping him fufill his destiny as a hero
1. Fact or Fiction

Chapter 1

Fact or fiction

Blu and Jewel flew back into their hollow after a long fun night of partying with their friends. They were tired but were willing to love each other all night long. Blu gazed at Jewel who looked as beautiful as ever, her sky blue feathers seemed to be reflecting the moonlight and her eyes twinkled brighter then the stars. Blu felt so overwhelmed by his love for her that he grabbed her by one wing and began to dance with her while singing:

_I`ll say hey, you`ll say baby_

_How`s your day, I`ll say crazy_

_But it`s all gonna be alright._

_You`ll kiss my smile_

_I'll pull you closer, spend a while just getting to know yah._

_`Cause it's all gonna be alright, loving you tonight._

Jewel laughed as Blu twirled her around

"So you really think you`ll be able to seduce me into kissing you on our first date, using your American charms?" She asked.

Blu stopped dancing and singing, Jewel giggled some more at the confused look on his face.

She crept closer to him, running a single feather up from his chest to his beak.

"I didn't say stop." She whined playfully.

Then there romantics were interrupted by a bird crashing into their hollow, as he landed he went skidding across the floor leaving a nasty streak of blood as he slid to a stop.

"_Ajuda, por favor, estou morrendo."_ He pleaded.

Jewel rushed to the stranger's side, the bird was fairly torn up. He had missing feathers here and there, along his back there were hundreds of bite and cut marks. He had a major stab wound in his gut, and his tail feathers were charred black. The bird's eyes and feathers were grey, but his eyes kept flickering with a green light as if he were a robot trying to turn itself on. The bird was a strange species though; he looked like a cross between an Osprey and a macaw.

"Jewel, go get some leaves, water and bring me some prickly pear spines." Blu instructed.

"What is that gonna do?" She asked.

"It`s gonna help me save his life, now go!" Blu shouted.

Jewel didn't argue, she flew off as fast as possible gathering the supplies Blu had requested.

Meanwhile Blu tried to keep the injured mystery bird conscious.

"So where are you from, what happened to you?" Blu asked.

"Cant...remember…I need to find her…she`s in terrible danger." The bird murmured, coughing up a little blood. The bird then began shouting out numbers and letters which (as Blu quickly realized) were coordinates, but to what was the real question.

Then Jewel came into the hollow, with supplies Blu had asked for.

"Here, how`s he doing?" She asked.

"He says he`s got to go save a girl, apparently she`s in danger." Blu explained.

"T…Ta…I got to find her." He moaned.

"You get working, I`ll keep him company." Jewel told Blu, who began using the prickly pear spines like surgical staples to seal up the stab wound.

"Hi, can you tell me your name?" Jewel asked the bird kindly.

The bird nodded, after wincing as Blu secured the first spine into the wound.

"Aar…Aaron Lancer." The bird mumbled.

"Who …who are you?" he asked after screaming out in pain as Blu continue to seal up his stab wound.

"Arianna 'Jewel' Reitman and sometimes 'Angel', according to my friend over there." She said motioning to Blu.

"Oh you and him are…together?" Aaron asked.

"Well tonight was our first real date, but yeah we`re chained together birds." Jewel replied with a slight smile.

"Well I never had anybody; no one wants me because of my…problem." He said sadly.

"But anyway…"

The bird extended his foot out to Jewel, asking for a handshake. Reluctantly, Jewel shook his foot with hers.

"It`s nice to meet you Arianna 'Jewel' Reitman." He said with a bit of a grin on his face.

"It`s nice to meet you too Aaron Lancer, and uh call me Jewel." She said.

"Jewel…" He echoed before his eyes began to close.

"Hey, Aaron come on don't die… tell me about that girl you were talking to my friend about." Jewel pleaded.

Then she shot Blu a venomous glance.

"How much longer, he`s dying!" She hissed.

I`m sorry, I'm bandaging his wounds as fast as I can but he`s already lost a lot of blood." Blu protested showing his wings to Jewel which were drenched with a red liquid.

"Who are you talking to?" Aaron murmured.

"Oh the other bird I told you about…the one who calls me Angel." She explained.

"What's his name?" He asked weakly.

"Oh, Tyler Blu Gunderson…but you can just call him Blu." She explained.

"Blu and Jewel, thank you both…for helping me." Aaron said as his eyes began to close again, but this time they closed and didn't open. Then his body began to smoke.

Jewel realized what was happening and pulled Blu away from the now deceased bird as his body exploded into sea green flames. When the flames subsided, Aaron was still there but his wounds were healed, for the most part. He appeared to be unconscious, as he was still breathing.

"That's impossible, I thought…." Jewel murmured turning her gaze to the stars.

"Ok, what just happened… who is this guy?" Blu asked.

"I didn't think Gran`s stories were real." Jewel whispered.

"What stories?" Blu asked.

"When I was little my grandmother told me stories about a race of ancient heroes. There were a tribe for each element, but this one he`s rare his parents must have been from diffrent tribes or somthing."

"Jewel, whats going on?" Blu demanded.

"Dont you know his kind are legends, they control the elements with mere flicks of thier wings. He is here because nature is using him to balance itself. If he is here then something...someone, somewhere is threating all of Rio, the whole balance of power between good and evil could be at stake." She explained.

"What is he, somekind of superhero?" Blu asked.

"Yeah... i guess so, he`s the physical incarnation of trust, freindship, hope, dreams, love...he`s light itself."

Blu was suprisied by this never before had he heard Jewel speak about someone or somthing with such passion before. (except her hate for humans.)

"Well if he so great of a hero then maybe you should start going out with him." Blu grumbled.

"Awww, are you jealous?" Jewel asked playfully.

Blu merley ignored her.

"Blu, come on dont be like that. Look... the story of how you won my heart is just as amazing as the stories that my gran told me before bed." She said batting her eyelashes.

Blu felt his heart melt.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, your just as much a hero as they were. The way you came after me, the way you broke out of your cage and frreed those birds, how you stood up to Nigel and threw yourself out of perfectly good airplane to save me...even though you couldnt fly. All that was brave, selfless, bold and... really sweet." Jewel said to Blu, who was bright red.

But then they turned thier attention to Aaron.

"So i guess we have to help him become a hero,huh?" Blu asked.

"Yeah, but there`s a guy in Argentina who can help us with that, we`ll drop Aaron off at the aviary tommorow morning then you and i can go find him." Jewel replied.

"Ok, sounds good...i guess i`ll see you in the morning." Blu said preparing to leave the hollow (since the two didnt offically live together) but Jewel put a wing on his shoulder.

"Could you sleep here, help me keep an eye on Aaron?" She asked.

"Yeah, of course." Blu replied.

Then the two birds settled into thier nest, Blu wrapped his wings arond Jewel and the duo drifted off to sleep . Unaware of the adventures to come.


	2. The Peacekeeper

Chapter 2

Peacekeeper

Aaron`s nightmares were only getting worse. He remembered her… she had lime green feathers that covered most of her body. But at the tips of her wings, tail feathers, and down the middle of her chest, the feathers were yellow.

That wasn't it either; the bird had 3 skinny mystery feathers that were 4 inches longer than the rest, these were about as wide a pencil and at their tips were normal feathers but they too were yellow. The three feathers were positioned on the far left of the tail, on the far right, and in the center.

Finally, the she had a set of light green feathers at the back of her head and one more of the mystery feathers that sprouted from the crown of the birds head and fell downwards over the bird's right eye, it looked almost hair like. Only this one wasn't tipped with a yellow feather. It had 3 colored beads and a peace medallion the size of a penny on its end instead.

He remembered his mission, what he had come here to do. He didn't like it. Not one bit. He got the feeling his master wasn't telling him everything. There were three voices in his dreams all telling him different things. He wasn't sure who to believe. All of them were telling him he had incredible destiny, but after that they were all fairly contradicting from one another. These voices were all shouting over one another, making it impossible for Aaron to comprehend what they were saying. Then he awoke with a gasp looking around realizing he was in the same hollow he had crashed into last night.

He knew he shouldn't be here, he knew his presence would bring pain and death to everyone around him. Despite these feelings of doubt, he rose to his talons, a determined look on his face.

He looked around for his saviors, but noticed they were nowhere to be found. He quickly concluded that they were out gathering breakfast. He also decided that this would be a good time to stretch his wings. Aaron flew out of the hollow and quickly gained altitude he quickly surveyed his surroundings. Realizing that he had absolutely no idea where he was. Sure, the fight with Vladimir had been tough but before the pit-bull sized Tarantula hawk from Chernobyl had hurled him from the sky he hadn't been able to see exactly what city he had arrived in.

Aaron didn't know much about the world; in fact he knew nothing about the surface of the earth. He did not know what he was, or how he should act. He had been locked underground since he was little. Then two nights ago his master told him it was time and told him to fly as far and fast as he could and that the 'winds of fate' would help him find his true direction.

Aaron noticed a small commotion on the forest floor and shot downwards to get a closer look. He noticed a group of toucan being harassed by some scarlet macaws. Aaron could hear the obviously older macaws yelling at the little toucans, telling them some pretty nasty threats. Aaron growled as he landed in a feral crouch between the bullies and their victims, a cloud of dust was produced on impact.

"What's going on here?" he asked.

"He`s trying to beat us up." One of the toucans said.

"Oh really, and why is that?" Aaron asked.

"Well, because me and my friend here had our eyes on this mango but before we could grab it these little _Diablo's _stole it from us." One of scarlet macaws explained.

"Hey we were helping our mom and dad gather breakfast!" one of the toucans protested.

"Yeah our family is bigger than yours!" another snarled.

"Oh yeah Shorty, well our family maybe smaller but we need to eat more in order to keep ourselves strong. Unlike you_ lazy_ toucans." One of the scarlet macaws grumbled stepping forward.

"Yeah, go eat a bowl of fruit loops or somthin'!" the other shouted.

"All of you stop it!" Aaron grumbled.

"I want you guys to look at each other. What do you see?"

"Another bird." They all replied.

"Exactly, what is the only difference?" Aaron asked the smallest of the toucans.

"Well…those macaws are bigger than us, and they look a little different. But other than that they have a beak, wings, feathers and everything that makes a bird…well a bird." He replied.

Aaron nodded.

"Then you should treat each other like such." He instructed picking up the mango and deploying a hidden blade from underneath his feathers and slicing the fruit clean in half.

"Thanks mister!" They all said as they took flight.

Aaron felt a sense of accomplishment and took to the tropical skies once more. He then patrolled the skies, searching for any signs of trouble. Eventually he noticed an unmarked white van moving fast towards this section of the jungle. It stopped short of a fence, which blocked their entrance into the Blu Bird Sanctuary (Aaron is unaware that this is protected land). Aaron began circling the suspicious vehicle with watchful eyes. He noticed three humans get out of the vehicle and use bolt cutters to get through the fence that was keeping them from advancing further into the jungle. Aaron immediately knew something was up. There was a main gate where visitors could come in; he had seen it last night. But this…these humans were acting like they were trying to get in undetected.

He decided it would be best to swoop down for a closer look. As he did a rage built up inside. He could hear terrified baby birds crying out, asking for their mother and fathers.

"_Punish the wicked, the weak, and the broken."_ His master had said.

Aaron had no problem with that. He knew these _humans_ would be no match for him. He thought about destroying the car, but doing so might hurt of the baby birds. This meant he would have to get in close, with his swords. Once again he willed the blades hidden in his wing feathers to deploy. There was one blade for each wing. The blades were black with silver symbols covering the blade. Aaron then willed his feathers to become light and transparent. They did and he became invisible. Aaron landed on a tree branch and noticed a short stubby human below him who was busy cutting the fence open. Aaron looked over to the van and noticed that two humans were inside of it but they were too busy arguing about something to pay attention to what the third smuggler was doing.

Aaron felt his adrenaline flowing as he jumped from the branch and glided silently to the human. Then as he was two feet away he aimed his blades at the man's neck. There was a crunch as the blades went clean through his spinal cord. He dropped dead without a sound. Aaron decloaked himself and yanked the bloody swords out of the man`s neck. There was no remorse, no second guessing, wondering about how this would affect the people this man knew. All he was to Aaron now was another clean kill.

Aaron jumped onto the hood of the car, starring down the remaining humans. He threw one of the blades directly at the one sitting in the passenger seat. The man was dark skinned and had a huge afro. The blade went clean through the wind shield and into the man`s heart. He died with an agonizing yell.

"_No pity, No mercy, No hesitation, that's what it takes to deliver justice."_ His master said on his first day of combat training.

The leader of the poachers would not go without a fight. He drew a firearm and fired several shots. Aaron managed to deflect 3 off of his sword. The remaining four missed him by a mile. The man stumbled out of the car. He fired another shot, this one was gonna be tricky. Aaron raised his wing and willed his feathers to cluster together in a tight weave. On a microscopic level they did so. As the bullet slammed into his wing in crumbled like a can being smashed on someone's forehead. The impact only caused Aaron to stagger but he kept advancing towards the panicked smuggler. While he did this he telekinectly recalled his other sword. Which was still in the other man`s chest. The smuggler attempted to fire yet again but failed, he was out of ammo. The smuggler drew his machete in a last ditch effort to kill Aaron.

The two locked blades briefly, but Aaron was far stronger then the smuggler realized. Aaron shoved the smuggler back and he flew, as if he had been shot out of a cannon, into the nearest tree. The smuggler regained his bearings quickly. He scowled at Aaron and charged the bird one last desperate time. Aaron sighed. This human did deserve points for effort. But Aaron felt his belly calling for breakfast, so he figured it was time to wrap thing up.

He rushed the smuggler, and as they were about to collide. The smuggler threw his machete at Aaron whom, jumped up and as he was spinning through the air cut the machete clean in half and threw both fragments at the smuggler who took both of them to the left eye. The man screamed as Aaron prepared to finish the job. The bird began to descend from his jump cut the smugglers leg in half at the knee. Then as he hit the dirt he did a back flip, charged his swords with his elemental powers, one with electricity the other with fire. He threw them both into the man's back. The man crumpled to the ground, landing on his belly and then began a pathetic attempt to escape by crawling away. Then putting all of his power into it, Aaron leaped up one final time created a sphere of energy around himself and propelled himself downwards at the man`s head. He drove one set of his talons into the man`s scalp and forced his head into the ground. The force of impact so great…it crushed his skull. Aaron yanked his blades out of the man`s back and hid them back in his wing feather sheaths.

Aaron sighed. The battle had been far too easy. He hadn't even managed to draw much blood from his victims. He shrugged, and then went over to free the other birds from the back of the van. As he did so he remembered the last thing he had asked _her_ before she disappeared.

"_Will I ever see you again?"_

The question was seared into his mind. It was only a fragment of memory that he had from his past life. The voices were back as well.

"Well done, just as I trained you." One said.

"What happened to you, they didn't deserve that!" said another.

"So much power, so much pain, when young hero will you learn of your true past. Only by finding what you have lost, may you find what you seek." The final one said.

Aaron didn't know what was going on, he didn't know if Aaron was his real name. He didn't know who or what he was. Why he had these powers. He didn't know who his enemies were; he didn't know who to trust. But that question: _"Will I ever see you again?"_

He remembered it for one cruel reason.

He had never gotten an answer.

* * *

_Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. Now that summer is here I will be updating at a (hopefully) faster rate. So I bet your wondering who Vladimir is what Blu and Jewel are up to. How will they react when they find out what Aaron has done? Who is this girl he keeps talking about? Why does Aaron fight like he does, why does he have these powers. But more importantly, is he using them for good or for evil? You, the reader, voice your opinion in your review (if you want) what would you have done instead. Speculation is welcome. But in the mean time, I`m the author I know how everything is gonna play out. But until you know for sure, Voice your theories I'd love to hear them!_

_Thanks for reading!_

_-Blu Wolf 923_


	3. Questions and Concerns

Chapter 3

Questions and Concerns

Aaron walked through the thick jungle floor, thousands of thoughts racing through his mind. One particular group of memories (one of the only ones he possessed of his past) were of all the times he spent with _her_. He remembered them so vividly, unlike most of the memories he still possessed, these ones were as clear as the ocean blue. They had best friends since they were around 10 years old; they always had stuck together through the good times and the bad. You could say they had love/hate relationship at times. If Aaron did something stupid she would slug him in the arm, in a playful way, (but to Aaron it kind of hurt). Those memories had been _seared_ into his memory for a reason. He just knew it. He stopped walking, drove one of his swords into the ground and leaped up on top of its hilt. He then balanced himself on his tail feathers and crossed his legs as a monk would. He emptied his mind, blocking out all distractions around him. Then he took a deep breath and sealed his eyes, and began to remember.

_Their relationship really changed the night before her 15__th__ birthday, Aaron was meditating on the hillsides of __**Mauna Kea**__, within the brush of the __**Māmane–naio forest **__when she came to visit him, and her name was __Kaikeline T__aneli .The love of his life since he was 13 years old._

Aaron sat on a cliffside, manipulating the waves that were crashing into the shore. He made the ones that might get him really wet smaller, and the ones that were too small he made larger so that they would get him a little wet. He sighed; he had been doing this for hours. So he manipulated a stream of water up to his position, bending it to his will. First he made it take the shape of a snake, then a whale before finally turning it into a yin yang shaped ice disk and examining its capability as a weapon. He quickly concluded that it needed a little extra spice, so he summoned more water to his position and formed them into serrated blades which he attached to the sides of the disk.

Aaron admired his work; he wasn't like the other birds who made beautiful works of art. All he could make were weapons, much to the dismay of his aunt who was a coral sculptor. She had tried to teach him how to make a bust head out of coral. But he ended up making the first underwater mine for his people's navy. Aaron set the ice disk down in the grass and continued to stare at the sunset.

"So any word on were fate might send yah?" a familiar voice asked him.

He turned to see Kaikeline standing behind him, playing with the peace medallion in her head feathers. That twinkle in her eyes brought a slight grin to Aaron's sad face.

"What's with the long beak, dude?" She asked.

"I don't want to leave." Aaron murmured.

"Well it's not really up to you is it?" she said sitting down next to him.

"If it was I wouldn't be leaving you, Hunokeli, and Kawanaha all by your lonesome." He grumbled.

"Hey it's ok, we`ll be fine. You just make sure you come back in one peace." She chided him.

"Promise, promise that you`ll come back and find me…no matter what." She asked him.

"I…I promise Katie." He said firmly.

"You better keep it too, yah knuckle head." She said slugging him in the arm playfully.

"I know never to make a promise to you and not keep it." He assured her.

"Why`s that?" she asked.

"Because, I have a small fear of getting beat up by a girl." He explained.

"Whoa, the all powerful, mighty, courageous air shredding warrior of the sacred order is scared…of a girl?" She asked suspiciously.

"Oh yeah, I`m completely terrified of you." He replied with a nod.

She laughed before saying:

"You're crazy, bra."

"_Crazy about you, Katie."_ He wanted to tell her.

"So…tonight is your birthday party, right?" He said quickly.

"Yup, but I`m just not as excited about turning 15 as I thought I would be." She explained.

"Well, that sucks. But I hope you`ll like the gift I got for you." He said sheepishly.

"Aaron, its fine really you don't need to get me anything." She insisted.

"You're my best friend, and whether you like it or not I'm giving you that gift." He told her sternly.

"You're so freaking stubborn!" She said shoving him.

"It`s a gift." He replied casually.

"Yeah…right." She said with a wink.

Then a shrill angry squawk filled the air.

"Sounds like mom wants me home." He groaned.

A quick, harmonic chirp followed.

"Same here see you later" She replied, wrapping her wings around Aaron in a tight embrace.

Aaron sighed and nuzzled her neck softly.

"Bye, see you later." He said quietly.

"Yupperdoodles." She whispered back.

Then the two parted and flew off in opposite directions.

Aaron landed with a grunt in his hollow.

"You really have terrible timing you know that." He snarled.

"Excuse me?" his mother growled.

"Nothing." He muttered.

"Yeah that's what I thought you little Diablo." She muttered.

"Hey I got to go and pick up Katie`s gift from a the north shore." He explained quickly, preparing to leave again.

"Oh what so you can give it to her, and then she can be a smart ass about its _imperfections?_" She asked.

"I`m really getting sick of you, yah old crone." He snarled.

"I don't care what you think I am. The point is you're not going to the north shore this late when your chores aren't done. You still need to pick up the sour cocoanuts. You can go tomorrow." She instructed.

Aaron hated being treated like this; in fact this was the last straw. This old bat calling Katie a smart ass was crossing the line.

"Screw the cocoanuts, screw the main land, screw this whole training to be a hero thing and screw you!" He screamed.

His mothers jaw dropped.

"Why are you saying these stupid things, you spoiled brat!" She shouted.

"Well, because apparently being in love with anyone outside The Order, caring about my friends, and trying to win the heart of the only girl on this island who accepts me for who I am, and the only one is able to shut you up is frowned upon in this hollow!" He screamed, his vocal chords straining.

"Aaron Lancer, so help me…" his mother hissed.

"You know what I`m done, my friends are more of a family to me then you`ve ever been!"

Then Aaron spread his wings and flew as fast as he could away from his mother, vowing never to return to that hollow again.

He landed at the north shore about 25 minutes later out of breath and angry. He walked into the base of a hollowed out tree where his grandfather, Moses, was waiting for him.

He looked exactly like Aaron, but the color in his feathers were fading, but his eyes twinkled with years of experience with the ocean and storytelling.

"Ah, just in time my grandson, the gifts are complete!" He said with a grin showing him the surfboard that was hanging on the wall. It had the design of a turtle with a peace symbol on the back of its shell. It had tribal flame designs along its sides and edges. He also noticed that his grandfather had weaved together a necklace of orchids, an item called a Lei.

"Grandpa, what would I do without you?" He asked.

"You`d probably stay single for the rest of your life." The old bird replied.

"Exactly, I guess this will be the last time I see you." He murmured.

The old bird nodded, put his wings firmly on his grandson`s shoulders and said something to him in Hawaiian pidgin.

"Thanks…um…what does that mean again?" Aaron asked.

"Bring me back a t-shirt." The old bird replied.

Aaron smiled, and hugged his grandfather.

"You got it." He replied.

Then he took the board and Lei, and made his way to the door.

"Oi!" His grandfather called out.

Aaron turned around to see what the bird wanted.

The elderly bird simply gave him the 'hang loose' sign with his feathers and said:

"Shaka Shaka, bra."

Aaron returned the gesture and left for Katie`s party.

When he arrived 15 minutes later, the party was in full swing and all of Katie`s friends were surrounding her as they waited for her to open the first gift. But she was waiting for Aaron who did his best to hide his gifts behind his back.

"Late as usual, Aaron." A female bird grumbled.

He shot her venomous glare. She merely returned it.

"Katie, I didn't have time to wrap these in palm leaves, but I hope you like them."

He brought forth the surfboard and lei, gently putting around her neck. Then he began to recite a poem he had thought of on the way over

_I was born in the heart of the ocean_

_It soon became clear that I was born to fight_

_Then I went around from place to place_

_Every time we moved away, I watched as my friends waved good bye_

_I sat sitting, waiting and wishing_

_Hoping every time that we`d stay forever in one place_

_But alas any time I dug my roots into one spot,_

_I would be ripped up and moved to a different space_

_I thought living here would be a living nightmare, all by my lonesome self_

_So I prayed and prayed for a friend_

_Gradually I began to care for my new found amigos_

_But no one could be compared to you, who I had the pleasure to befriend_

_You were a wildflower in a field of dead grass_

_I made you laugh, and thankfully I never made you cry_

_You became my one of my best, the girl who put up with my antics, unlike the rest_

_But I knew there were sometimes when you wanted to give me a black eye_

_We were as opposite as fire and ice_

_Yet we somehow managed to coexist_

_When faced with danger I'd prefer to talk my way out_

_And yet you preferred to use your fists_

_We had our ups and downs_

_I was there when Megan stole Summer from you back in the seventh grade_

_You were there when I crashed and burned trying to get my first date_

_I listened to you talk about the art trade_

_Then just when we were at our strongest_

_The winds are going to take me away, leaving you and my other pals for the mainland_

_But when I visited my oldest friends, they had changed, I felt like I was going to be alone again_

_I came to realize that I would miss you smacking me in the back of the head, even though it was one of my biggest hates_

_No matter where I go I will be telling all those hate me about you_

_But they will just roll their eyes and say "how does she put up with this boy"_

_Well even __**I'm**__ not sure how you do_

_After all these years_

_That fierce fire in your eyes is still there_

_You say you have gone soft, but I can tell you're still a fighter_

_You say you're a loser, but the girls around here have got nothing on you_

_Me? Ha well I'm just an ugly drifter_

_Well now a day's we`re still in sync, despite the opinions of your step sister_

_The wind under my wings will always remain_

_And you`ve still got that swagger in your step_

_Although you're bickering with Megan has got me concerned_

_I`ve got a whole new set of adventures to look forward to_

_And I wish I wouldn't have to go on any of them without you_

_But I look forward to seeing you again_

_Cause girl your eyes are as amazing as the ocean blue_

Everyone clapped and Katie rushed over and wrapped her wings tightly around Aaron`s torso.

"Oh…my gosh…dude…why do you do these things for me." She asked quietly.

"Well…because, you're my main girl." He replied.

"Yeah, I guess I am…and I`ll always be your main girl." She replied.

"Really, well I`ve always like you too Kate." He said with relief.

"Wait…what are you talking about?" She asked, pulling away.

"Well I`ve had a crush on you since I was 13." He replied, obviously confused.

"Oh my…Aaron…no, no, no….NO!" She shouted.

"What`s wrong?" He asked.

"You're my best friend; you're not supposed to…to...fall for me!" She shouted.

"Well, why not?" He asked sadly, sensing where this was going.

"You're like a brother to me, Aaron. This isn't how love works!" She grumbled.

"You know what…fine, I give up. IM TIRED OF GETTING REJECTED BY EVERY GIRL I`VE EVER FALLEN FOR!" he screamed.

"Aaron, it would never work…It would just be too weird!" She reasoned but he clearly was too angry.

"I thought you would be different, but NO! You're no better than all of the other girls; I guess I was wrong about you!" He snarled

"Watch it Aaron, that 'girls' comment you made is bull, thanks for pissing me off on my birthday!" She hissed.

"Well good, now we`re even!" He shot back.

"EVEN! How! What did I do to make you mad…why are you acting like this…are you happy now?" She asked tears forming in her eyes.

"FRIGGING ECSTATIC!" He screamed before taking flight, leaving the party in shock at what just happened.

Aaron`s eyes snapped open, the memory faded.

"_Why can I only remember the bad stuff?"_ He asked himself.

Then a female toucan flew into a tree a few yards in front of him, he flinched as he heard the girls bones crack.

"Eva, NO!" a voice shouted.

Then Aaron was paralyzed as a massive pit bull sized Tarantula Hawk came into view, it was chasing Blu, Jewel, a male toucan and 18 toucan chicks. Then in a move of pure villainy it snapped up one of the chicks with his mandibles and shook him around violently before tossing it aside. It stung another with its spear like stinger in the shoulder. The chick cried out in pain. It raised its stinger after pinning another chick to the ground, aiming for his heart.

"No, please, STOP!" The male toucan screamed.

An insidious voice hissed in Aaron`s mind, it sounded like a demonic version of Katie`s voice.

"_Your move hero"_ It snarled.

Aaron broke out of his trance and summoned blue flames to engulf his body, he drew one of his sword and chucked his ice disk (which he managed to form out of thin air) at the Tarantula hawk`s wings. They disc of death cut clean through the giant insect's wings and it howled in pain, releasing the baby toucan in the process. He then deployed his other sword and flew straight at his foe.

"VLAD, YOU DIE NOW!" He shouted slamming into his old enemy and sending them both crashing clean through several trees. Then they hit the ground and rolled through the dirt and mud before skidding to a stop. Aaron ordered the flames enveloping his body to disperse; he held both of his swords to the Russian insect's throat.

"Now before I gut you, answer one question for me." Aaron hissed.

"Shoot." The insect grumbled.

"What am I, what is my purpose, WHERE IS KATE?" He shouted, full of fury.

"Wouldn't you like to know" Vlad chuckled before coughing up green blood.

Aaron drove one of his swords into the creatures head and sent thousands of volts of electricity surging through his brains, about two seconds later the insect`s head exploded.

Blu and Jewel landed behind the still shocked and angry Aaron.

"What are you?" He asked.

"A monster, a guardian, a savior, or…something else?" Jewel asked.

"I don't know, probably all of the above." Aaron replied quietly, listening to the voices criticize him once again.


	4. Signs

Hey guys, I know this is short but I figured I better give you guys somthing to keep the plot going and the excitement up. So enjoy this little chapter.

-Blu Wolf 23

* * *

Chapter 4

Signs

_Meanwhile in Dubai_

A lone macaw sat at the bottom an aquarium tank, her eyes wide open. Watching as the sharks, rays and fish circled around her. Not really acknowledging her presence. The humans didn't seem to notice her either. She had been holding her breath for at least an hour now; her lungs were practically made of steel. Then she felt a tingling on her neck. In one smooth leap she sent herself hurtling forwards, phasing right through the aquariums glass barriers, as if she was made of light. Her feathers still soaking wet, she performed a summersault and as she came out of the motion, she willed her right wing to burst into flames a she went to punch her adversary.

The Raven standing by the doorway wore a short red cloak and had purple glowing eyes. He had a duo of pigeon lackeys with him.

"Hello Kaikeline." He murmured as she rushed them. He too rolled forward; his left wing began to give off a strange blackish/green mist.

But unfortunately the Raven managed to hit her first; she flew back and slammed into the glass of the aquarium, cracking it and causing a few leaks. He took out a crudely made knife from his cloak. Kaikeline tried to stand up, but she was too dazed and one of her legs was broken, along with her now dislocated wing and a few broken ribs.

"Now tell me girl, where is the boy?" He hissed.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She snarled defiantly.

Using his claws, he grabbed her by her throat, picked her up and slammed her up against the glass.

"Talk you little tramp!" He growled, as he began to choke her.

"G….g…go to hell." She spat.

"My patience is slipping away." The raven said, as he drove his dagger into her chest.

She grit her beak, and managed not to cry out.

"Yeah, I noticed. Hey you know another thing that's slipping" She asked.

"What?" He asked, mildly amused.

"Your grip!" She shouted kicking him in the gut, causing him to drop her.

She lit her other wing ablaze and gave her tormentor a solid upper hook. Which knocked the lower part of his beak clean off. She scooped up the dagger that he had drop while in pain a drove it into one of his minion's face, killing him instantly. Then she threw herself onto the ground, popping her wing back into place then formed a blade of Ice on one wing and a blade of somewhat hardened lava on the other wing. Then she use said elemental blades to cut the third minion into three different pieces. She grinned, and then cried out in pain as the Raven scooped up his dagger and drove it into her back. She collapsed as her vision began to fade and she noticed a pool of blood was slowly encircling her. The raven stood over her in a menacing fashion, but he gave her a suspicious look after noticing that the bottom half of her pupil was the lower half of the yin yang symbol, which was red.

* * *

_At the exact same moment 7,378 miles away in Brazil._

Aaron collapsed with a burning sensation in his chest; he rolls on the floor in pain as Blu and Jewel try to figure out what's wrong with him.

"Aaron are you ok, what's wrong?" Jewel asked in panicked tone.

"Did that Tarantula hawk guy hurt you or something?" Blu asked.

Aaron, still in pain, shook his head.

"I…Kate…Have to…Dubai…Moscow…Save…Washington DC…Her…Kill…Vladimir."He groaned.

Blu then noticed something strange. The top half of Aaron`s pupil had been replaced with the upper half of the yin yang symbol, which was colored a ocean blue.


	5. The journey begins

Chapter 5

The journey begins

"Aaron, you're crazy." Jewel sobbed.

"I can bring her back, I swear it." he insisted.

"'My wife is dead, stranger, do not mock my sorrow with lies." Rafael scolded, while his children wept.

" I hate to say this, but Rafael is right. She has massive injuries, her neck and spine are broken." Blu said, finishing his attempted check for vitals.

Aaron knelt next to Eva, blood was trickling from her beak, and her body was twisted around at odd angles.

"Yes, her injuries are grim. it will take all of my power to revive her physical form. but if her soul has moved on already the resurrection will be much more...difficult." He announced.

"You would give up your powers just to revive her?" Jewel asked.

"I can always get them back, yes it will take a while. But it has been done before." Aaron replied.

"I won't force you to do this stranger, but if you decide it is in your heart to aid my family. I would be forever in your debt." Rafael told him, with a twinkle of hope in his eyes.

The voices in Aaron's head shrieked in protest, telling him there was no time to waste on this toucan. he decided to ignore them anyway, and instructed everyone to get back.

He his left wing tip into the blood of Eva, he stuck another into the nearby mud. He then used his wingtips to draw the yin yang symbol on Eva's chest. He chanted in an ancient language as the symbol began to glow. Then in a explosion of light and color, a small northern lights storm swirled around the deceased toucan.

In the heart of the light storm was a broken yin yang symbol, which was made up of images of Eva's memories. Thousands of tiny strands of lightning, fire, ice, earth, light and shadow floated freely through the storm.

Aaron quickly set to work, reconnecting the elemental strands as if he was a human child putting a Lego set together,or a bird building a nest. Slowly, but surely, Eva's memories began to fit together again and the images became crisper and even included sound.

Aaron sung a little song as he worked:

_Better staple it together, call it bad weather_

_Staple it together, and call bad weather._

_If the weather gets better we can get together, spend a little Tim and do whatever, _

_cuz if we get together we will be twice as clever..._

Everyone stood beak hanging wide open as Aaron repaired Eva like she was a broken machine. Then as he finished the yin yang symbol was fully repaired and Aaron finished his chanting with:

"Eva, mate of Rafael, mother of 18 children, we miss thee, your departure has torn our souls asunder,we call thy name in grief and beckon thee to return." he said the last words with a powerful convicting shout, that showed he really wanted this ritual to succeed.

He took Eva's yin yang symbol in his wings and then gently shoved it back into the toucans chest. The light storm shot back into her as well and she awoke with audible gasp.

She slowly stood,obviously dazed but alive.

Rafael began sobbing loudly as he ran to his mate and lovingly wrapped his wings around her, but she pushed him away.

"I'm sorry my love, I was just so scared." he explained, realizing he might of hugged her too tightly.

"_my love_, your crazy I don't even know you!" she snarled.

"Yes you do, we have 18 bundles of joy and terror." he explained,more terrified then before.

Aaron snuck up behind the clearly amnesic Eva and spoke a word in the ancient language he had been chanting earlier.

She froze in place as her golden yin yang symbol appeared on her chest, but it was outlined in red. Aaron knew it should have been one solid color,he issued another command and the toucan unfroze and passed out, falling into her mates arms.

"Whats wrong with her, you said you were going to bring her back. Yet, she is nothing but a shell of the bird I once knew." Rafael asked, still crying.

"I know what I said, but I mentioned that if her soul had left her body things would be more difficult." Aaron replied, his face full of shame.

"Well she is alive, but we need to get her fully recovered." Blu suggested.

"Indeed, it will require a journey to The Well of Eternal nights, it is a forbidden pyramid deep in the heart of the amazon. It is the nearest cross well to the afterlife, if Eva's soul is heading anywhere before it leaves us for good. It will go there." Aaron announced.

"But, according to legend, that place will be swarming with creatures and ancient curses. You're powerless, there is no way you'll make it to the bottom of the well." Jewel reasoned.

"I have my swords, and I also believe that there are relics that were used by my predecessors, who were far less powerful then I a...was." Aaron replied.

"Well your not going alone, Blu and I are coming with you." Jewel said with a determined look in her eyes.

"We are?" Blu whispered.

Jewel swatted his rear with her wing.

OW, i mean...yeah let's go, this should be fun." He grumbled rubbing his tail feathers.

"I appreciate the offer but i have to do this alone." Aaron insisted.

"It wasn't an offer, I'm telling you so we can decide on a departure time." she said flatly.

Aaron had been taught to choose his battles carefully, and this was one he knew he couldn't win.

"Fine, but you two are NOT coming into the well with me, deal?"

Jewel nodded, but Blu could see that she wasn't going to let this one go.

"Whatever, let's just get going so we can get to The Well." She said through a clenched beak.

The there prepared to take wing, but Rafael stopped them giving a rolled up piece of papyrus to Aaron.

"it's a map to the Heart of the Amazon, and old medicine man gave it to me. Jewel should be able to read it, after all it is in Portuguese." he explained.

"Thank you, this will help us a lot. We'll make your mate well again, I promise." Aaron told the toucan.

"Take care of Blu and Jewel, As of right now...they're all I've got." He replied.

"I will, your mate will be back to normal soon, you have my word." Aaron assured the weary toucan.

Then the three adventures took flight and flew northwest, unsure of what they would find.

They flew for three days, Jewel knew the amazon fairly well but the farther they got from Rio the more she would be worried they wouldn't be able to find there way back. It was the first time in a long time that both her and Blu were worried about the same thing.

All the way Aaron whistled a mystical yet adventurous tune that kept their spirits up as they flew over the _extremely _repetitive landscape. By noon of the second day Jewel could of sworn she had seen every shade of green that ever existed.

Aaron just asked for Jewel to translate every now and then before altering there course and continuing to fly onwards. Soon, Jewel lost all sense of direction, she even started failing to realize which way the wind was coming from and the time of day became a mystery to everyone.

On the 4th day, things looked bleak.

"We are SO lost!" Jewel snarled.

"Yup, which means we are going the right way." Aaron assured her with a nod.

"That doesn't even make sense." Blu grumbled, moving his shoulders around in discomfort.

"Trust me, we'll be there soon." Aaron insisted.

"You said that two days ago!" Jewel shouted.

" I agree with Jewel, it's been way to long. We might not even be in Brazil anymore!" Blu reasoned.

"Yeah, we might be in like...Venezuela for all we know!" Jewel growled.

"I know, but The Well is not supposed to be easy to find." Aaron told the two cranky blue macaws as a thick fog rolled in.

"You know what, maybe I was wrong. You are trained for this kind of stuff, Blu and I aren't so we are just gonna turn around and head home." Jewel said sheepishly.

"As you wish, I won't stop you, just be careful." Aaron warned them as they turned around.

"We will, good luck Aaron!" Blu called out as they flew away.

They probably flew about 50 yards before smacking into a tree that was far too tall even for the flora of the Rain Forrest. If the fog hadn't been there it would have been easily spotted since it was far taller then the average trees that made up the Rain Forrest canopy.

Blu and Jewel fell into a pile of leaves with grunts and groans of annoyance and pain. Luckily, they had been able to slow their fall thanks to their wings. The only injuries they sustained were some bumps and bruises.

Aaron landed next to them with a grin on his beak.

"Well done you two, it seems bringing you guys along wasn't such a bad idea. I have been waiting two days for this to fog to appear. We are finally here." he explained, carefully surveying the surroundings.

"Why now, is my question?" Jewel said with a groan, standing up and brushing leaves off her tail feathers.

"I am not a Shade of the Forests, so I can't really answer that. The Well is a mysterious force, it moves around the world and takes the Aura (soul) of dead forest creatures and allows them to cross into the next life. The timing of its movements are impossible to predict although, we can predict where it will _eventually_ go." Aaron explained.

"So you knew it was going to be here somewhere, we were just waiting for it to show up." Blu asked.

"Yup, now we need to make our way to The Well and open it's main gates by manipulating the Sacred Elemental Seal." Aaron told them, as if he had done it before.

"Hold on a minute, I remember this place, well according to my grandmothers stories, well I thought this place wasn't as gloomy." Jewel said, nervously looking around.

"The legends are correct, normally the fog isn't as thick as it is now. A mysterious darkness has penetrated this place. Depending how long this evil has been here, The Well may be full of souls that have been stranded here in the realm of the living. This could also make the dark creatures that live here ten times more powerful then normal." Aaron murmured, shuttering.

Jewel slipped her wing into Blu's and he held it tightly. They both felt comforted knowing that the other was there. Aaron watched the two with a bitter jealously, he wished he had a friend (or girlfriend) who was there for him no matter what. But then with a saddening realization, he remembered that Katie was that friend, but now she was gone...perhaps for good.

Jewel saw this weakness in Aaron, she knew he was supposed to be a hero and he wasn't supposed to be scared of anyone or anything. But instead of a hero she saw a boy, no older then herself or Blu, who was alone, sad and scared that he was going to spend the rest of his life miserable, and without a true home, family or friends.

She looked a Blu quickly, he nodded in reply. Knowing what she was going to do. She slowly extended her wing to Aaron offering her moral support. She and Blu looked at the young hero as if to say:

"_Everything will be ok, we are right here with you."_

Aaron looked at the duo then at the wing that was extended towards him, but he shook his head dejectedly, turned away and walked off into the fog bank, whistling a sad tune as he proceeded towards a large hazy structure in the distance.

Blu looked at Jewel who had a dismayed look in her sapphire eyes. But he squeezed her wing gently, assuring her that it wasn't her fault. Then wing in wing the two proceeded to catch up with Aaron.

They found Aaron in a clearing in front of a massive Aztec pyramid, it's stone structure was crumbling and was covered in slick, fat, water filled vines and spongey moss. It was obvious the pyramid was hundreds of thousands of years old. White orbs of fire shot in and out of the pyramids top. Then the trio noticed it's main gate which was made of dusty rotten vines, rusted steel spikes and weathered stone was still in place.

"Guys, I have to go in alone. But if you want to talk me, just give that song I was whistling when we were flying a try, then find a rock and toss it into the nearest puddle of water. You should be able to contact me by doing that. I'll be back as quickly as I can." Aaron told them.

"Fine, if you insist but be careful Aaron this place…there is something wrong here." Blu told the young warrior with a shiver.

"I will, you two stay safe as well find a hollow thats as high up as you can and await my return." Aaron instructed them.

"We'll be fine, you just worry about yourself." Jewel chided.

Aaron nodded, a determined look in his face. Then he walked over to a raised mound of dirt. Blu and Jewel stood close by, anxiously waiting for something to happen.

"Get back." He told them sternly.

The two macaws took a single step backwards.

"GET BACK!" He shouted, his tone deadly serious.

The macaws took another two steps back.

"Whatever, don't blame me if you get hurt." Aaron grumbled, rolling his eyes. Then he made his way to the center of the mound, where a golden slot was. He drew one of his swords, then with a grunt drove it into the golden slot. Then the earth shook, the wind picked up and a eerie tune began to play out of nowhere. Almost as if angels were singing at a funeral, but the deceased persons identity was a mystery.

Then a sudden sharp gust of wind blew the mound of dirt apart, revealing a giant golden yin yang symbol embedded in the earth. the gust of wind had knocked Blu and Jewel down onto their beaks. The symbol was surrounded by other giant glyphs, and images of animals. The massive golden alter (of sorts) was as large as a football field but was dwarfed by the 200ft tall pyramid that was in front of it.

Then the yin yang symbol began to rotate around Aaron, who slowly and carefully removed his sword from the slot on the alter. Then he raised his sword into the air, lightning shot down from the sky and struck it. He in turn made a horizontal slice at the The Well's door. A wedge of energy generated from his blade and struck the door with the booming sound of thunder. The door glowed a ghostly green before disappearing altogether.

Aaron sheathed his blade and ran inside, unaware of what he would fine. As soon as he disappeared into the darkness of The Well's innards, Blu and Jewel glanced at each other before running into to the pyramid after him as door reformed and the golden relics in the ground became covered in dust and dirt once more.

_**Well that wraps it up for this chapter, thanks for the reviews! It has really got me going on all of my stories again, it's very encouraging to see more and more of you guys (and girls) commenting on my writing. An author is nothing without his readers, and I thank you my faithful readers for giving me a reason to use my nearly acquired IPad to update at a faster rate. Also, this is a shout out to **__**The Scarlet Macaw**__**, get well soon! I am also starting a bit of a contest, who ever guesses my three main inspirations for this story will get the chance to have their own OC in a future chapter. As always, constructive criticism, questions, theories/speculation about future events in the plot, and reviews in general are always welcome. Until next time, keep your swords sharp, the aim of your bow true and may the winds of luck remain in your wings.**_

_**-Blu Wolf 23**_


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